XTX Topco Ltd Acquires 532 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

XTX Topco Ltd grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 28.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,427 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 532 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd's holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $2,558,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Icon Advisers Inc. Co. bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at $1,581,000. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department now owns 679 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $716,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 7,399 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $7,799,000 after buying an additional 326 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 771 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $813,000 after buying an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth about $390,000. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on GWW. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,113.00 to $1,112.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. William Blair upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Wolfe Research lowered W.W. Grainger from a "peer perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $966.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $1,130.89.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE GWW traded up $16.79 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $1,002.12. The company had a trading volume of 412,242 shares, compared to its average volume of 254,728. The company has a market capitalization of $48.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.89, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.49. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $988.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1,070.47. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12-month low of $874.98 and a 12-month high of $1,227.66.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.71 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.75 by ($0.04). W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 11.12% and a return on equity of 52.43%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $8.33 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.82%. W.W. Grainger's payout ratio is 21.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other W.W. Grainger news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $997.12, for a total transaction of $1,160,647.68. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,235 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,205,523.20. This represents a 10.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About W.W. Grainger

W.W. Grainger, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, distributes maintenance, repair, and operating products and services primarily in North America, Japan, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, High-Touch Solutions N.A. and Endless Assortment. The company provides safety, security, material handling and storage equipment, pumps and plumbing equipment, cleaning and maintenance, and metalworking and hand tools.